he's looking to get 1.5 million yen to record a 6/7 track cover EP. You can donate from 5,000 yen and receive absolutely nothing to upwards of 22k yen for a video message, letter, limited edition version, credit in the liner notes etc.

I'll probably go for the second tier, but not letting people choose how much they donate is kind of a bad idea... I can imagine there's quite a few fans who would want to donate a few quid, but not a lot willing to donate 5k yen for no reward...

Let's drop a translation of the "full course" option just to give an idea of what's on offer.

For 150000Y, you get:
- Thank-you message
- Vote for songs to be on the cover album
- Special limited edition of the cover album "DRESS"
- Limited edition pouch
- Video files of recording and off-shot footage
- Your name (or nickname) listed in the album's special thanks section
- Postcard signed by Kaya
- The right to distribute/share your commemorative materials (???)
- A personal video message from Kaya, 2-3 minutes long, on one topic of your choice
- A handwritten letter from Kaya
- Exclusive photobook "2006-2018 Photo Collection"
- Invitation to a tea party with Kaya to celebrate the album's completion (June 2019 in Tokyo, afternoon and evening sessions available)
- Spring picnic with Kaya in May 2019, with commemorative photography
- Invitation to watch the album recording at the studio in March 2019, with commemorative photography
- Kaya will hold a personal "man-to-man" live just for you (and one friend) in May 2019. Tokyo only.

I am still baffled by the 5000 yen option. Why donate 5000 yen and receive nothing if you can donate 3500 yen and get a thank-you message as well as the album and an opportunity to submit song requests?

I will definitely donate though. I must say, there are some pretty sweet packages and for Japanese fans, 15 000-30 000 yen is not such a huge sum of money. Kaya doesn't need a few quid from poor foreigners

Yeah the issue isn't being poor for me...it's me not needing this album.
It's a cover album - no new stuff. And even if it were new, I don't much like his music anymore...or his style...
Sometimes I think (know) I'm simply here for the nostalgia of it all.

I'd rather donate 5000 yen to a cat TNR association and get a tax cut.
But good luck to Kaya on that thing.

冗談じゃないわよぅ～
オカマは死なないわよぅ～

Hanachan wrote:

If you're not using the ear cats give them to me so I don't have to hear your excuses for not getting a job

Yes! Japanese people just don't GET IT when it comes to neutering cats!
Something like 90% of all animals the shelters pick up are killed every year.
That's awful. Kitties need donations more than Kaya does.

As for the tribute...don't bandgirls usually give "tribute" in the hopes that they'll get something in return...or at least the 'dream' that they'll get something in return.
Like a special recognition, or a better ticket, or even a boyfriend or just sex or wtvr.
But considering Kaya's killed that for just about everyone female, I guess he needs to provide actual song compensation XD

Personally Nakamori Akina is too close to his style. I'd prefer morning musume and the beatles.

冗談じゃないわよぅ～
オカマは死なないわよぅ～

Hanachan wrote:

If you're not using the ear cats give them to me so I don't have to hear your excuses for not getting a job

Just my personal opinion and I don't know him. But I think he was always this way. The most accepted way to dress in drag and sing (sorta) seriously was vis kei though.

He's major label now、 right? Once he realized the world would let him sing as he is、 aka a gay dude in dresses lol、 he went with it. Also、 being accepted for himself prolly took whatever zetusbou there was out of him. And the label prolly has a bunch to say on his image.

冗談じゃないわよぅ～
オカマは死なないわよぅ～

Hanachan wrote:

If you're not using the ear cats give them to me so I don't have to hear your excuses for not getting a job

As for the tribute...don't bandgirls usually give "tribute" in the hopes that they'll get something in return...or at least the 'dream' that they'll get something in return.
Like a special recognition, or a better ticket, or even a boyfriend or just sex or wtvr.
But considering Kaya's killed that for just about everyone female, I guess he needs to provide actual song compensation XD

Personally Nakamori Akina is too close to his style. I'd prefer morning musume and the beatles.

Click to expand...

Yesss If he covered Renai Revolution 21 that would be amazing!
or everyone can vote for a Rick Astley cover.

Actually the majority want to keep that barrier up between them, to preserve their dream or something idk.
The times I have gotten money from bangya it is some kind of masochist thing, or they just have too much money from doing ~la dirty~.
Of course you have the crazies though, and the sex, and the tanuki website posts that follow.

Erm... what do you mean by the "tribute"? Money? Presents? For... what? Sexual favors?
I've noticed many foreign fans have a misconception that "mitsu" is a common thing among Visual-kei bands when quite clearly it is not. I'm not saying it doesn't happen at all, but my guess is that only the less-known bands can allow this to happen. You remember why Femme Fatale broke up, right?

I don't even know why this topic came up XD Meanwhile, 4 out of 5 of the 150,000 yen plans have been sold. In just about 10 minutes

My perception was that tribute is mostly money or expensive (brand label, etc) gifts, and that even for smaller groups the general hope is that the banddude would recognize their name/face.
That or acknowledge them during a concert or akushu - give them some bangya cred.
Maybe treat them a bit like a friend so they could feel special.
Kinda makes you wonder if the bangya are lonely...

So yeah, interested to know what your experience is too, ghostpepper.

Last edited: Dec 13, 2018

冗談じゃないわよぅ～
オカマは死なないわよぅ～

Hanachan wrote:

If you're not using the ear cats give them to me so I don't have to hear your excuses for not getting a job

Erm... what do you mean by the "tribute"? Money? Presents? For... what? Sexual favors?
I've noticed many foreign fans have a misconception that "mitsu" is a common thing among Visual-kei bands when quite clearly it is not. I'm not saying it doesn't happen at all, but my guess is that only the less-known bands can allow this to happen. You remember why Femme Fatale broke up, right?

I don't even know why this topic came up XD Meanwhile, 4 out of 5 of the 150,000 yen plans have been sold. In just about 10 minutes

Click to expand...

haha I just mentioned it because mitsu is the "crowdfunding" normally in a way for VK.
I am an active musician in the music scene here in Japan and hang out with lots of visual musicians, mitsu is very common.
*look in Evol'V magazine Vol.40 if you can and my white boy ass is easy to find.
For minor bands it is more crazy for sure, but for bigger band members who are friends of mine they still receive it.
Femme Fatale was for cheating and getting caught, not because of mitsu.

that 150,000 deal is super good when keeping all of this relative stuff in mind haha.

My perception was that tribute is mostly money or expensive (brand label, etc) gifts, and that even for smaller groups the general hope is that the banddude would recognize their name/face.
That or acknowledge them during a concert or akushu - give them some bangya cred.
Maybe treat them a bit like a friend so they could feel special.
Kinda makes you wonder if the bangya are lonely...

So yeah, interested to know what your experience is too, ghostpepper.

Click to expand...

yurppp. I am in a duo called VERA-FI sometimes working with Watusi from Coldfeet and now joined the revival of ex.Sanbika~Sakura's La'Vistier.
Sanbika was a Malice Mizer roadies' band so he showed me some cool offshots of them. Yu~ki is super handsome in them!

yah, Like for smaller bands or even bigger bands it is def a kind of "look at me?" kind of like how in the crowdfunding you can get your name listed as a producer?
Often it is just going to eat with them sometimes. Doing a VK band can cost lots of money and honestly they just want support the band members in some wierd way.
My buddies in Black Gene For The Next Scene had it so if you spent 100,000+ at for only one of their lives you could choose someone to go eat with. it was like
above ground mitsu appeal.
If you just go out and drink with them, act like a friend, and then at the end they give you money for your music it really is just like host club work or shucchou host work.
sex would be nasty and can def lead to things like femme fatale, tanuki is yo enemy -> see: Kisaki hahaha.
I work as a host in kabukicho but even then, receiving mitsu is not always comfortable. esp if dey cray cray @_@;
Reading these kind of comments about it is funny: http://new02.bbs.2ch2.net/test/read.cgi/visualtanuki/1307302060/

Femme Fatale was for cheating and getting caught, not because of mitsu

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Wait, what?

... Hennyways, as of 2:36 pm today (UK time) its received 123% of its funding. I'm surprised, but not disappointed. If it gets to 200% we get a 14 track cover album rather than a mini-album! I'd be interested to see what he'd cover other than chansons and the like.

Also i didn't realise that the English/Japanese support tiers were different? I mean, it makes sense, but i was wondering where everyone was getting this 150,000 tier from.

Tanuki is one ugly place. I'd really like to believe it represents an extreme end of bangya spectrum. Girls selling themselves in fuzoku, so that they could afford buying bandmen's "love"? Yikes. I can understand wanting to support your favorite artist financially, but doing it for dates or sex is.... Knowing full well that you are just being used for money. I can't even understand what's the incentive for bangya. Anyways, I'd still like to believe that mitsu as "sex for money" is not that common (at least not among well-known bands, as it would be too risky). Mitsu as expensive presents... I've seen that (bangya tend to brag on social media if a bandman wears something they've bought).

Also i didn't realise that the English/Japanese support tiers were different? I mean, it makes sense, but i was wondering where everyone was getting this 150,000 tier from.

Click to expand...

It's the same with ATMs in Japan (at least some of them) - as soon as you choose the English option, the number of available transactions goes down. It's as if they assume you're tourist with an overseas-issued card. With the crowdfunding site, they seem to assume that if you choose English, you are located outside Japan. Honestly, can't they just give a simple translation without assuming stuff?

I still haven't donated because I can't decide upon an artist/song to request. I don't know any interesting Japanese female singers tbh... most "female" singers I know are men in dresses XD Any ideas?